Monday, February 29, 2016

"It is so simple that it is obvious once she [Senator Warren] has pointed it out; and yet
most people rarely, if ever, consider the impact of presidential
nominations - and of late they have likely done so only because Warren
blocked a nominee over their strong ties to the industry they were to
police. It's clear, these are the kinds of regulators who don't regulate
- and don't prosecute. Warren doesn't put it in such harsh terms, but
this is a scathing indictment of the Obama administration. If there were
any question about why Obama has not been a Progressive, it is answered
here."

"This boorish, monosyllabic TV tyrant with the attention span of an
Xbox-playing 11-year-old really is set to lay waste to the most
impenetrable oligarchy the Western world ever devised. It turns
out we let our electoral process devolve into something so fake and
dysfunctional that any half-bright con man with the stones to try it
could walk right through the front door and tear it to shreds on the
first go. Trump found the flaw in the American Death Star. It doesn't know how to turn the cameras off, even when it's filming its own demise."

Against their own best interests? Especially when those programs that economically and socially enslaved them did so with the full approval of the Clinton programs which Hillary vociferously endorsed? Just
as the ignorant whites are for Trump, let's face it: those blacks
voting for Clinton are uneducated and ignorant as well. Which of course
is by design, only in this case the Democratic establishment of which
Clinton is a part keeps them that way for exactly this reason. Aided and abetted, by the way, by black leadership.

Saturday, February 27, 2016

I saw this coming long ago when they dumped Olbermann, which is now a foregone conclusion. MSNBC hires progressives voices only to keep them in check and dilute their message. All of their progressive staff should quit and join Ring of Fire and Free Speech TV.

I am endorsing Bernie Sanders for President of the United States. He's
leading a movement to reclaim America for the many, not the few. And
such a political mobilization – a "political revolution," as he puts it
-- is the only means by which we can get the nation back from the
moneyed interests that now control so much of our economy and democracy.

This
extraordinary concentration of income, wealth, and political power at
the very top imperils all else -- our economy, our democracy, the
revival of the American middle class, the prospects for the poor and for
people of color, the necessity of slowing and reversing climate change,
and a sensible foreign policy not influenced by the
“military-industrial complex,” as President Dwight Eisenhower once
called it.

It is
the fundamental prerequisite: We have little hope of achieving positive
change on any front unless the American people are once again in control.

I
have the deepest respect and admiration for Hillary Clinton, and if she
wins the Democratic primary I’ll work my heart out to help her become
president. But I believe Bernie Sanders is the agent of change this nation so desperately needs.

A
little over six years ago, on the Floor of the House, President Obama
invited the House Republicans to show their health care plan to him. To
make it look good for themselves on C-SPAN, they waved something at him
that looked like a healthcare plan. Blank
pieces of paper. The Republicans waved blank pieces of paper at the
President of the United States. That was their healthcare plan. I
didn’t like that. So I took to the House Floor armed with nothing but
poster boards, an American flag tie, and a lot of courage. This is what I
said:

“It’s
my duty and pride tonight to be able to announce exactly what the
Republicans plan to do for health care in America … . It’s a very simple
plan. Here it is: The Republican healthcare plan for America: ‘Don’t
get sick.’ If you have insurance, don’t get sick. If you don’t have insurance, don’t get sick. If you’re sick, don’t get sick. Just don’t get sick! And the GOP’s “backup plan”:
If you do get sick, America, the Republican healthcare plan is this: 'Die quickly.’”

Friday, February 26, 2016

And how spring break might reduce the number of college kids, who support him in droves, because they might be too drunk to vote in the March primaries. Funny but also likely true, given they aren't even coming out in sufficient numbers in the primaries as it is.

"This month, Berkeley joined a growing number of cities across the
country that are making it easier for co-ops to create jobs like
Goldsmith’s. On February 9, the city council passed a resolution
requiring Berkeley to create an ordinance supporting worker-owned
co-ops. The ordinance will institute tax and land-use incentives for
co-ops, create educational support materials for current and potential
worker-owners, and make it easier for the city to spend its procurement
dollars with cooperative businesses—something no other city has done
(Oakland is considering a similar ordinance). To make co-ops more
competitive in the bidding process and direct more money to them, the
city plans to discount their bids before evaluating them, while still
paying the co-ops their full asking price."

I can see thisas a new movie with Thom Hanks as professor Robert Langdon in The Supreme Code.

Scalia was "among high-ranking members of an exclusive fraternity for hunters called the International Order of St. Hubertus. [...] Members of the worldwide, male-only society wear dark-green robes
emblazoned with a large cross and the motto 'Deum Diligite Animalia
Diligentes,' which means 'Honoring God by honoring His creatures,'
according to the group’s website.
Some hold titles, such as Grand Master, Prior and Knight Grand Officer.
The Order’s name is in honor of Hubert, the patron saint of hunters and
fishermen."

"Because he is facing the Clinton machine, as well as the conservatism of
mainstream media, Sanders might not win the race. But it has now been
demonstrated that another Sanders – possibly younger and less white –
could one day soon win the US presidential elections and change the face
of the country. In many respects, we are witnessing the end of the
politico-ideological cycle opened by the victory of Ronald Reagan at the 1980 elections."

See Michael Greer's article here. A few edited excerpts follow so see it for much more:

"To a very real extent, Hillary Clinton’s faltering presidential
campaign is a perfect microcosm of what Spengler was talking about in
his cold analysis of democracy in extremis. Her entire platform
presupposes that the only policies the United States can follow are
those that have been welded in place since the turn of the millennium:
more government largesse for corporations and the rich, more austerity
for everyone else, more malign neglect for the national infrastructure
and the environment, more wars in the Middle East, and more of the
fantastically stupid policy of confrontation."

Thursday, February 25, 2016

And it's about time. Clinton had no response and her lackeys told this black woman, who paid the $500 for this speech, she was trespassing. And that it was 'inappropriate' to have Clinton answer for what she actually said.

This hilarious video has women posing as Fox News reporters saying the most outrageous things to Republican supporters, with the latter just accepting the nonsense as fact and responding to it. While some of it is really funny, it's also frightening that these people vote based on such ignorance and stupidity.

In this clip
Hartmann discusses Uber and how the so-called sharing economy limits
people to part-time work with no benefits, no unions and no recourse to
bad treatment. It's a corporate model that is changing the very nature
of work for the worse. And yet he also admits to being a satisfied Uber
customer and supporting a system that he finds not in the least amenable
to a just and fair work envirnoment.

"If I hear the word "Uber" one more time on your show, off goes the
switch. You, more than anyone, should understand the MO behind this
parasite of a company. They off-shore their earnings and drive
functional cab companies to near bankruptcy. In Portland, three of the
five city commissioners have as their political adviser one of Uber's
lobbyist. One being the mayor.

"Our company (who is driver owned)
has ~ 300 cabs. 170 of those carry city issued permits to work LEGALLY
within the city limits of Portland. This cap was set by the city, not
us. Uber has been allowed to work deregulated. According Uber and Lyft,
there are close to 8000 (yes 8 THOUSAND) Uber/Lyft drivers working in
the city. How are we, with our cap limit of 170 cars, supposed to
compete with this corporately (by Goldman and Google) funded giant?

"I've had to start collecting my social security early (I'm 62) because
Uber has sucked so much of our income away I can no longer make ends
met. Even the Uber drivers are complaining of too many drivers. Many are
lucky to make 40 to 60 bucks after working 10 to 12 hours. And since
they're not regulated, some are driving more hours than legally allowed
by the State of Oregon.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Following up on this post, see this Hartmann report, which includes the CA court case against Uber:

"A recent court decision could threaten the future of Uber.
A judge in California has granted class action status to drivers for
the ride-share service who claim that the company treats them like
regular employees, without providing the corresponding benefits. And,
this case could have broader implications for the so-called 'sharing
economy' as a whole. As more Americans start providing services
on-demand through apps and websites, labor law experts worry what it
means for the future of workers' rights. Without the benefits that come
along with full-time employment, including sick time and social security
contributions, more workers are missing out on protections that they
would receive as regular employees. The 'sharing economy' may force our
nation to redefine what it means to be an employee, and find a way to
protect workers who don't fall into traditional categories. We can't
stop technology, or erase the need for individuals to supplement their
stagnant wages, but we can make sure that workers are protected in this
new age."

And here's a 2012 Hartmann article on the real sharing economy when owned by the workers, not a corporation. Therein he even mentions Union Cab. An edited excerpt:

Greenwald is right in this article. The Dem establishment keep saying Clinton is the electable one in a general election but all the evidence points to the contrary. In several polls Sanders does way better than Clinton against all GOP candidates, and in some Clinton is losing to Cruz. Her lead on Trump is negligible while Sanders is not. In terms of popularity, "the more the public gets to see of both candidates, the more
popular Sanders becomes, and the more unpopular Clinton becomes."

I've been hearing a lot of Uber commercials on both of their shows. Given the Uber business model I've also been wondering how either could promote such a despicable company given their progressive bona fides. So I went to the Hartmann message boards and found this thread on the topic. I will copy of few of posts by porches-and-titchforks, who started it:

Full disclosure: I am a member of Union Cab, a worker owned and operated cooperative in Madison Wisconsin. I listen to Thom's radio show on 92.1 while I am driving my cab and
the cognitive dissonance of listening to Thom, a man I admire and mostly
agree with on just about everything, doing the narration for an Uber ad
is driving me nuts. I understand the importance of ad revenue, but I
have to believe Thom just is not aware of how shady and nefarious Uber
and the "sharing economy" in general is, or he wouldn't be advertising
for them.

See the 12-track digital album here, listen to and support it. Their blurb:

ABOUT THE COLLECTIVE: ILLUMINARI

Progression
in art is something that requires a complete abandon of sorts. It is
that courageous step forward, right out of the box, in brazenly sure
footing. ILLUMINARI represents the feminine principle in a world of
duality. Our message is the light of existentialistic exploration and
the clarity of inner truth. Our tool is the path of musical expression
and artistic movement. We recognise that in this material reality, the
masculine principle, the route of reaching
outward for truth, is the more active, dominant one,
and so our purpose is to illuminate our listeners to release themselves
from the hold of the overtly physical and discover the deeper, realer
life within. If but only one person awakens this light within them,
ILLUMINARI would have served its ultimate vision, to ignite the guidance
of the heart and soul. This is the picture we are painting in all its
audacity and what we believe our contribution is to the collective.

The last post reminded me of Mark Edwards' work on the "space between." A brief excerpt from part 5 of his Integral Leadership Review interview:

"In
the following figure I draw two holons encountering each other in a
moment of relationship. The space between is filled with the
interobjective artifacts of that encounter – words, gestures, signs,
touch, meanings, displays, roles, communications. Using the
developmental ideas of Vygotsky the space between is filled with the
mediating processes and artifacts that flow between the two holons. We
can draw an holonic boundary around some logical grouping of these
artefacts to identify the 'mediating holon'.

"To read and to write is to become entangled; to allow oneself to be
snagged upon or enmeshed amidst a profusion of other texts and ideas.
Born of these twin entanglements, criticism is necessarily an act of
collaboration between an author and a churning mass of other things."

See this article, written by a Wall Street insider that details the relationships both Clintons have had with Wall Street since the beginning of their careers. They transformed the Democratic Party from one for workers to one bought and paid for by the big banks. That Clinton 2's bank 'reforms' still leave the big banks at the center of the economy is telling in itself, but there's quite a history to the story.

No surprise that the good ole USA did not have one city in the top 23 at the Mercer 2016 index. Now why is that? It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that our oligarchy doesn't give a shit about the quality of life of anyone but itself by extracting wealth from society? Oh, I know, Mercer is a commie propaganda machine with a vendetta against America. Sure, ok...

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

A must read on several issues and where the candidates have stood over time, including DOMA, marriage equality, NAFTA and TPP, welfare reform, minimum wage and several other issues. It's just the facts. And if facts matter to you instead of just hyped rhetoric, then the choice seems clear for Sanders. But if you are a lackey for the hype, or one of the corporate hypers that hide behind the insincere progressive spin to manipulate you, then you get what you deserve for your laziness and ineptitude.

"Today, two great signs of change are occurring. On the one hand, the
capitalist world economy is putting tremendous pressure on the earth’s
biosphere and bringing an onslaught of destruction to immediate
environments and vulnerable people worldwide. On the other hand, the
rise of new and progressive social-economic foundations is the result of
an unprecedented increase of information and communication technologies
(ICTs). Therefore it is arguably more crucial than ever to understand
how social, economic and ecological foundations of the internet and ICT
infrastructures are interwoven. What are we – as scholars, activists and
citizens - to make of ICTs that seem to emerge from an economic and
social system based upon ecological destruction and social oppression,
while at the same time engaging millions of people in the proliferation
of information, knowledge and active democratic collaboration? This
special issue investigates how we can begin to understand this problem,
and how we can hope to balance the perils and promises of ICTs in order
to make way for a just and sustainable paradigm."

See this article. So now it's ok when she talks about this transition step to universal coverage but it can never happen when Sanders suggests it? This is exactly the route Sanders would take to achieve his goal, working within Obamacare to offer the public option first. Clinton is a despicable panderer and pilferer.

Conservatives are always harping on the so-called free stuff we give to the poor. But what about the free stuff in terms of tax breaks and subsidies we give to the wealthy and corporations which dwarfs the former? You might counter "but they create jobs and grow the economy." Fact is, not they don't. The rich hoard their wealth and corporations ship jobs overseas, both of which remove money from the economy and decimate it.

We've seen the DNC try to fix the debate schedule for Clinton. Then they withdrew Sanders access to their own campaign information. Then there were questions about counts in the IA caucus. And now the following from the NV caucus. The Democratic Party is now as corrupt as the Republican Party, both bought off by moneyed interests. And democracy goes down the drain.

This article explains it succinctly. See it for more detail than this brief excerpt:

"You can use 'capitalism' as the name either for an idealized free
market system that has never existed in practice, or for the actually
existing historical system that you’re an apologist for. You can’t do
both. If you start with the corporate capitalism that Apple is part of,
and then take away the historical legacy (and ongoing process!) of
peasant land enclosure, colonialism and neo-colonialism, slavery, land
and resource grabs, 'intellectual property' and other monopolies, and
restrictions on the free movement and association of labor… well, you
don’t have much left. If you want to argue that 'real capitalism has never existed,' and
repeat 'That’s not capitalism, that’s corporatism!' like a broken
record, fine. But you can’t turn around then and use the products of a
transnational corporation like Apple as an example of capitalism. If you
do, you’re either stupid or a liar. It’s that simple."

"The Clintons destroyed the liberal-progressive wing of the Democratic
party, introduced bank deregulation and the gang of Robert Rubin, Larry
Summers, Timothy Geithner et alia. The Clintons are not Democrats but
what used to be called Rockefeller Republicans--as opposed to the Sun
Belt Right wing nuts first spearheaded by Goldwater as a challenge to
Nelson Rockefeller and the East Coast elite. Bernie
is just restoring the normal balance and constituency of the Left as a
counter weight to the ruling One Percent that the Clintons serve. The
Clintons are millionaires and part of the Davos Conference global
economic elite, so Hillary's lies about taking on Wall Street ring
hollow. She is just too slick, but Bernie is more of a passionate and
compassionate Old Leftie."

See this article. The GOP's obstructionism is unprecedented so no, according to the media it's not both sides. That lamestream media programs the public to accept this as the way it's always been we just throw our hands up and accept it. But we the people have a responsibility to get the facts and vote for people that represent we the people based on those facts. Get busy people and read articles like this. Hopefully you'll get mad enough to get your fat ass off the couch and do something about it.

Even Sanders admitted that's why he lost in Nevada. This article shows the numbers. While the youth seem excited about Sanders' campaign they just aren't showing up to support him in the primary. And if they don't he won't get it. And polls right now are showing that Clinton loses not just to Trump but Rubio as well. If you youngster don't get involved in the primaries we are likely to get one of those regressive clowns.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

See this article. It's nice to see some universities joining the 21st century. An excerpt:

"Last week, Stanford University announced that more accepted students won’t have to pay anything for tuition, which normally runs nearly $46,000 a year. Students whose families make less than $125,000 a year and have assets worth $300,000 or less, including
home equity but excluding anything that they have saved in retirement
accounts, won’t have to pay tuition. Students whose families make less
than $65,000 also won’t have to pay for room and board, which can run
about another $14,100. Scholarships or grants will cover the costs instead, and the school has a $21 billion endowment. The thresholds were previously $100,000 for free tuition and $60,000 for free room and board. Students will still have to contribute at least $5,000 a year from
part-time work during the school year, working during the summer, and/or
savings.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

See this article. Four economists that sing for Clinton have criticized a paper by economist Friedman analyzing Sanders' proposals and finding them economically sound. However the four critics did not provide any data supporting their refutation, instead relying on an argument by authority. "Galbraith suggests that the real sham in
the wonk scuffle is not Friedman's work, but the willingness of
prestigious economists to rely on their mere authority to demean the
work of others without actually analyzing it." Friedman, however, used "standard impact assumptions and forecasting methods" to back his claims.

Friday, February 19, 2016

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Conspiracy
theorists believe that the Republican Party did not die from natural
causes but was instead the target of an elaborately planned killing, a
leading conspiracy theorist has confirmed.

Harland
Dorrinson, whose basement walls are covered with photos of suspects in
the killing of the G.O.P., has spent countless hours connecting those
photos with different colors of yarn in the hopes that a larger pattern
would emerge.

“Because
the Republican Party is one hundred and sixty-one years old, it’s
assumed that it was time for it to die,” he said. “The truth is, that’s
exactly what the people who killed it want us to think.”

While
some conspiracy theorists have focussed on the billionaire Donald J.
Trump as the most likely suspect in the death of the Republican Party,
Dorrinson favors a “two-killer” theory that involves Arizona Senator
John McCain and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Great clip about those Democrats that cry foul any time a progressive criticizes Clinton, saying we're handing the election to a Republican. No, this is how a primary debate is actually supposed to work. And when the best man or woman wins then we rally around them against the "pondscum" Republican.

In this clip he quotes a recent investigative report on exactly who are the superdelegates backing Clinton. Many are corporate lobbyists antithetical to Clinton's supposed progressive policy proposals. Watch not what Clinton or the DNC say but what they do, and we can clearly see the superdelegate issue is fixed in favor of big business and against we the people.

Continuing a recent theme in the blog, see this article and the interview below on how the regressives have learned how to frame issues with fear, hate and bigotry to their advantage. Problem is, Trump in the one that gets most of these voters against the wishes of the Party. But they created this monster with their despicable framing so they're getting what they deserve. I just hope that most of the country accepts the framing of their better angels represented by Sanders and vote for love and compassion instead.

Recently the Pope criticized those candidates that would put up a wall to keep people out of their country. While he didn't name Trump we know who he meant. Pretty much the same can be said of the rest of the Republican candidates, who claim to be Christian yet their words and deeds don't match that belief system. This cartoon highlights that the socialist Jew is more in line with the Pope's actual teachings.

The following is a blog post from Frater Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest. Quote:

Most of us have grown up with a capitalist worldview, which makes a virtue and goal out of accumulation, consumption, and collecting. Normally
we cannot see this as an unsustainable and unhappy trap because all of
our rooms are decorated with this same color. It is the only obvious
story line that our children see. “I produce therefore I am” and “I
consume therefore I am” might be our answer to Descartes’ “I think
therefore I am.” They are all terribly mistaken.

This foundational way of seeing has blinded us, so that we now tend
to falsely assume more is better. The course we are on assures us of a
predictable future of strained individualism, severe competition as the
resources dwindle for a growing population, and surely perpetual war.
Our culture ingrains in us the belief that there isn’t enough to go
around. This determines much if not most of our politics. In the USA
there is never enough for health care, for education, for the arts, for
basic infrastructure. The only budget that is never questioned is for
war and armaments and military gadgets.

He's right, the Democratic Party is betraying democracy for its corrupt system that will leave the nominee up to the Party elite and not the people. If you agree that superdelegates should vote with the actual winner of the people's choice then go to this page to let him, and the Democratic Party, know your thoughts.

See Koch's article here, where he agrees with Sanders on the issue of a rigged system. Very
weird. Must be one of those spin strategies to humanize him and his
company, since they are all in for oligarchy and buying legislation for
Koch profit. Ill-informed people (all Fox viewers) will believe these
lies. It does though show that even the Kochs realize that the Sanders
message is resonating to the point that he needs to manipulate and appease that audience with this farce.

"Everything transpires as if the being of beings were a sort of origami.
There are only folds: plaits, pleats, creases, waves, crevices, knots,
and caves. And within each of those folds? Other fold! There are only
folds coiled within folds radiating to infinity in both time and space.
And if this is not enough, these folds are not fixed-crease folds, but
rather are mobile folds. The wave is a better image of the fold than the
envelope. A wave is a fold that perpetually folds itself, that
traverses a field and that maintains its identity through the repetition
of a process that is the unity of both difference and sameness.

Following up on this post, see this from the Scharmer thread on shifting capitalism to a regenerative ecosystem economy:

"Create
economic human rights (such as basic income, access to health,
education, entrepreneurial opportunity) in order to enable all people to
actualize their full creativity for shared wealth generation and social
well-being."

Following up on this post on
a guaranteed basic income moving folks up the Maslow ladder or Wilber
conveyor belt. Now see this article where the UK Labour Party is
considering the idea with the same notion in different words:

"The
major concern is ultimately people: the lives we are able to lead, our
ability to have a sense of security so we can pursue our ambition, and
our ability to contribute to supporting one another, innovating, and
developing the creative potential of society.”

Particularly judicial nominees, including now the Supreme Court (SC) in light of Scalia's death. The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved 14 of Obama's nominees and the Senate leader refuses to even have a vote on them. The same unnamed 'leader' has already vowed to not even consider Obama's SC nominee. Some regressives are even saying the President doesn't have the right to nominate anyone this late in his administration. Obama sets them straight on the Constitution, which they claim to value. This is just yet one more example in a very long line of Republicans obstructing the work of government and then claiming government doesn't work.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

"But it would take half a generation – till now, basically – to
understand the most explosive part of the bill [Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act], which additionally
legalized new forms of monopoly, allowing banks to merge with heavy
industry.[...] Today, banks like Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs own
oil tankers, run airports and control huge quantities of coal, natural
gas, heating oil, electric power and precious metals. They likewise can
now be found exerting direct control over the supply of a whole galaxy
of raw materials crucial to world industry and to society in general,
including everything from food products to metals like zinc, copper,
tin, nickel and, most infamously thanks to a recent high-profile
scandal, aluminum."

"Then, just for kicks, they're also betting on the timing and efficiency
of these same industrial processes in the financial markets – buying and
selling oil stocks on the stock exchange, oil futures on the futures
market, swaps on the swaps market, etc. Allowing one company to control the supply of crucial physical
commodities, and also trade in the financial products that might be
related to those markets, is an open invitation to commit mass
manipulation. It's something akin to letting casino owners who take book
on NFL games during the week also coach all the teams on Sundays. [...] In these new, even scarier kinds of manipulations, banks that own whole
chains of physical business interests have been caught rigging prices in
those industries."

Also note here's Lerner's more recent statement on this issue. Some excerpts:

"The assaults on Bernie Sanders’ presidential candidacy reached new lows
in the past week. Unable to effectively challenge the value of his
policies, the denizens of the status quo have now focused on his alleged
utopianism and his supposedly flawed vision of how change happens. [...] Yet such leaders are only possible if they emerge from and are supported
by larger visionary movements to whom they are accountable. Krugman
wildly underestimates the importance of maximalist demands for peace,
social justice, and environmental sanity, and thereby fails to see the
importance of leaders who urge us to seek a fundamental transformation
of our deeply broken society"

See the video below, which is prophetic on the current argument between the Clinton and Sanders camps, inspirational vision versus pragmatic realism. Lerner's spiritual vision seems to support Sanders over Clinton in this regard. Of note is that Clinton used to be a Lerner acolyte. How times have changed.

"The
Network of Spiritual Progressives — the interfaith advocacy arm of
Tikkun magazine — seeks to transform our materialist and
corporate-dominated society into a caring society through consciousness
raising, advocacy, and public awareness campaigns that promote a 'New
Bottom Line' based on generosity, peace, and social transformation. The
NSP shifts mass consciousness by challenging status-quo ideas about what
is possible."

See this article, which references Piketty's piece
in The Guardian. Picketty sees Sanders are representing the end of the
Reagan era and a return to the era of "extremely progressive taxation
and social spending." From 1930 to 1970 the marginal tax rates on the
wealthy was on average 82%, which revenue went to building the New Deal
and Great Society. Sanders and the people's movement behind him wants
this return to equality and justice, but Clinton is "another heiress of
the Reagan-Clinton-Obama
political regime" that maintains Reaganomics.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

In this clip Hartmann criticizes Rachel Maddow for giving statistics on the IA and NH primaries that suggest that there is no real Sanders revolution. Hartmann sets her straight with several stats she neglected to mention that belie the narrative she is being paid to sell by her corporate masters. It's just another example of why I gave up on Maddow years ago.

In this clip Michael Winship discusses how the Kochs and other conservative groups have had a long-term goal of spinning their Ayn Randian metanarrative of enlightened self interest benefiting the supposed cream of our society while denigrating collective action for the benefit of all.

Cruz's dad is not only a religious fanatic but one of his son's most trusted advisers. See this clip to see how the apple didn't fall far from the tree. So we've already moved from a democracy to an oligarchy, and now they want to shift to a theocracy? Are we still in America?

Following up on the last post, Bruce
Bartlett has been a staunch Republican, serving in Reagan's and Bush
Senior's administrations. He wrote an extensive and detailed paper
on how Fox News is destroying the Republican Party with its propaganda.
Therein he notes several studies showing how badly Fox viewers are
misinformed, how they peddle propaganda, and how it has strongly and
adversely affected his Party. He concludes:

Monday, February 15, 2016

See the video below for the details. The answer is the rabid right-wing media outlets like Fox News, which is nothing but propaganda built on lies. The Republican quoted is certain that such media has now made it impossible for a sane Republican to run for and win office. To wit: Donald Trump is Fox New's monster, as they dumbed down their audience to the point that they cannot tell fact from fiction.

He used to be for single-payer, but now that he's a lobbiest for healthcare companies he's against it. Coincidence? And now he's comparing unions PACs to SuperPACs. Dean has completely become a tool of the money that he gets from his masters, just like Clinton. Which is exactly why we need a people's revolution to get this kind of 'Democrat' out of influence.

The following is from Warren's FB post. She's right, especially since Scalia was a strict Constitutional literalist, and the Constitution is quite clear on this. Here's Warren:

"The sudden death of Justice Scalia creates an immediate vacancy on the most important court in the United States. Senator McConnell is right that the American people should have a voice
in the selection of the next Supreme Court justice. In fact, they did —
when President Obama won the 2012 election by five million votes.

Here he answers how we get past an obstructionist Congress, by engaging we the people to get politically active not just during elections but all the time. When this country was founded it was predicated on an educated and engaged citizenry, so it's our duty to get involved if we want to maintain democracy or cede it to the oligarchs.

Same issue is now happening with the regressive call to not allow the President his Constitutional duty to nominate a Supreme Court Justice. These people are fucking nuts and there's no diplomatic way to put it. Here's Borowitz:

GOP: "By nominating a Supreme Court justice, Obama is once again cynically using his position as President to lead the country."

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Responding
to reports that President Obama is considering signing as many as
nineteen executive orders on gun control, Republicans in Congress
unleashed a blistering attack on him today, accusing Mr. Obama of
“cynically and systematically using his position as President to lead
the country.”

Spearheading the
offensive was Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas), who charged the President
with the “wanton exploitation of powers that are legally granted to him
under the U.S. Constitution.”

Calling
him the “Law Professor-in-Chief,” Rep. Stockman accused Mr. Obama of
“manipulating a little-known section of the Constitution,” Article II,
which outlines the power of the President.

“

President
Obama looks down the list of all of the powers that are legally his and
he’s like a kid in a candy store,” Rep. Stockman said. “It’s
nauseating.”

The Texas congressman
said that if Mr. Obama persists in executing the office of the
Presidency as defined by the Constitution, he could face “impeachment
and/or deportation.”

Saturday, February 13, 2016

In the last debate Clinton said of the Sanders single-payer plan that the numbers don't add up. Not so says this article. They say the 'expert' Clinton uses is basically full of shit and that Sanders' plan does in fact work out as he proposes. See the article for the details.

"The conventional wisdom holds that, in the Democratic primary, Hillary
Clinton is the candidate who will win over African-American voters.[...] But in fact, when it comes to advancing Dr. King’s legacy, a vote for
Clinton not only falls far short of the mark; it prevents us from giving
new life to King’s legacy. Instead, it is Sanders who has championed
that legacy in word and in deed for 50 years."

It was a highlight of their last debate. This article provides why whether you bask in Kissinger's glow or despise him is a key indicator of the divide in the Democratic Party as played out in the Presidential contest. An excerpt:

"Hillary Clinton exists in a world where 'Henry Kissinger
is a war criminal' is a silly opinion held by unserious people. Her
problem? Lots of those silly and unserious people want to wrest control
of the Democratic Party away from its current leadership, which is
exemplified by people like Hillary Clinton. Bernie Sanders’ critique of Clinton is not that she’s cartoonishly
corrupt in the Tammany Hall style, capable of being fully bought with a
couple well-compensated speeches, but that she’s a creature of a
fundamentally corrupt system, who comfortably operates within that
system and accepts it as legitimate. Clinton has had trouble countering
that critique because, well, it’s true. It’s not that she’s been bought,
it’s that she bought in."

So why do blacks support them? The article lays out Clinton I's policies and how they actually made the situation much worse for blacks. See it for the damning details.

Also black leadership is also raking in the money by shilling for the very
corporations that maintain this system. See the story on the CBC PAC
endorsing Clinton. Unfortunately, due to defunding black schools to the
point of decrepitude has led to many of them not getting the education
needed to see they are being duped by their own leaders.

It's always this same tired question, even from Clinton. Sanders has always and specifically accounted for how he will pay for every one of his proposals. This page has the details. Now shut up you Bernie haters.

See this article from Chris Hedges. There is much more than these introductory paragraphs:

"What is in the mind of someone who knowingly poisons children and
impairs their lives? Why did the politicians, regulators and bureaucrats
who knew the water in Flint, Mich.,
was toxic lie about the danger for months? What does it say about a
society that is ruled by, and refuses to punish, those who willfully
destroy the lives of children?

"The crisis in Flint is far more ominous than lead-contaminated water.
It is symptomatic of the collapse of our democracy. Corporate power is
not held accountable for its crimes. Everything is up for sale,
including children. Our regulatory agencies—including the federal
Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality—have been
defunded, emasculated and handed over to corporate-friendly stooges. Our
corrupt courts are part of a mirage of justice. The role of these
government agencies and courts, and of the legislatures, is to sanction
abuse rather than halt it.

WASHINGTON—Flushed with anticipation and ready to emerge from another
long, cold winter, millions of Americans participated this week in the
annual tradition of trimming their pubic regions in time for Valentine's
Day. A ritual as old as time itself, this year's pubis-shearing is
expected to be among the largest in decades, with more than 20,000 tons
of curly clippings predicted to fall by Feb. 14.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Following up on this post, here's another article about the DNC's recent decision to allow Wall Street PACs and other such lobbyists to donate to the organization and fix the election for Clinton. They also have a petition to undo it here.

Just last night Clinton once again asked how she has changed one thing in response to all that big money she received from Wall Street. Here is just the latest example. Reich notes that the DNC "quietly reversed restrictions banning donations from federal lobbyists and political action committees" put in place by Obama in 2008. "Hillary Clinton has set up a joint fundraising committee with the DNC
and the new rules are likely to provide her with an advantage." Reich goes on that it is yet another example of insider crony capitalism, the kind of power money buys, inside the DNC and Clinton's association therewith. And to hear Clinton continue to assert the contrary is not only insulting but insidious.

If
a young guy is caught red-handed stealing a car, he’s likely facing
arrest, prosecution and jail time. But that’s not how it works for big
bank executives. The Justice Department found an email from a Morgan
Stanley executive specifically instructing a colleague to hide critical
facts about the problems with the mortgages in the mortgage-backed
securities the bank was selling to investors. When those mortgages later
blew up, they helped spark the 2008 financial crisis and a massive
taxpayer bailout. In spite of that smoking gun – and many others – the
Justice Department announced a settlement with Morgan Stanley yesterday
that doesn’t hold a single live human being accountable for the type of
fraud that ultimately cheated investors out of tens of millions of
dollars and cost millions more people their homes, their jobs, and their
savings.

See this article on the debate last night, which contends that Sanders was better on foreign policy. He noted that yes, Clinton does have more experience in the matter, but her judgment is faulty. Clinton has repeatedly favored an interventionist regime change policy that sure, gets rid of brutal dictators. But it does not then explore the unintended consequences of that action. Hence we get the Iranian revolution and ISIS. This point was further hit home when Sanders criticized Clinton for glomming on to the support of Kissinger, who Sanders rightly noted was a butcher.

The massive victory by Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire was a pivotal moment in the race for the Democratic nomination. Taken with the close results in Iowa, one thing is increasingly clear: This is going to be a long primary season, and every single delegate is going to be important.

Which
is why many Sanders supporters were shocked to see what the news media
had to say about the delegate count on Wednesday morning. Even though
Bernie won New Hampshire by an absolute landslide, the press claimed
that he and Hillary Clinton were leaving the state with an equal number of delegates -- because most of the state's superdelegates are promising to vote for Hillary at the convention.

Here's
how it works. In addition to the thousands of pledged delegates, who
are allotted to each campaign based on primary and caucus results, there
are 712 superdelegates -- made up of Democratic elected officials and
party insiders -- who get to vote on who the party's nominee should be
at the convention.

If
the race is close, superdelegates could determine who the nominee will
be regardless of who the majority of voters supported. Pretty
undemocratic, isn't it?

The new Integral Review
is out and this article is of particular interest to this thread:
"Orange capitalism--and then what?" It starts with a review of 2 books, Memenomics by Dawlabani and From Ego-System to Eco-System Economies by Scharmer. It then offers the author's own speculations on a turquoise economy.

“So what is Dawlabani proposing as a solution and way forward for the
American economy after this Orange collapse? Perhaps an economic system
based on the Green 6th level value system?! Well, not really. […] There
is no consistent and functioning Green vMeme economic system described
or discussed here. Shouldn’t the Green economic system, whatever that
is, have its cycle with all its phases? Shouldn’t stages not be
skipped?! Instead of elaborating on a green system as a solution to the
orange problems, Dawlabani moves on and proposes a Yellow system, which
he refers to as Functional Capitalism. […] The Green value system,
however, is in my view oversimplified. In order to integrate values at a
higher level, the lower ones need to be accurately understood and
described. And the key to do that, I believe, is to acquire a deeper
understanding of the life conditions and problems that are associated
with the Green value system and created by the Orange systems. Here I
find the second book more elaborate” (131-32).

And not only irresponsible but likely criminal by national security standards. See this article for details. This following quote sums up Clinton's attitude of royalty and privilege. And we in the US criticize the backward royalty in the UK. Ha.

"Someone
who does this is completely irresponsible, but totally unaccountable
and shows a streak of arrogance to the American public that is unworthy
of anyone thinking they can run for President of the United States.”

But that's how it's being reported. See this article showing that it was the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) political action committee (PAC) that endorsed Clinton, not members of the CBC. The CBC PAC board is composed of mostly lobbyists for big business. But even the CBC itself has members that have sold out to Wall Street and big business. So neither really represents the black people per se. But they do influence them with spinned rhetoric about black rights etc. while they rake in the corporate funds. Granted, several members of the CBC are indeed genuine on these issues. But the CBC PAC endorsement of Clinton is just further proof of establishment Dems, no matter their race, selling their soul to the devil for a price.

See this article. The Department of Labor has proposed a rule that would require investment advisers to advise clients in the latter's best interest. That we even need such a rule, and that right now said advisers don't have to do this, is astounding in itself. This lack of a basic ethical rule is part of why so many investors lost so much in the financial crisis, given that advisers knew damned well they were selling junk mortgage bonds, reaping a giant profit for themselves, and screwing clients when those bonds failed.

In the video below this economist, using standard Congressional Budget Office methodology, asserts Sanders proposals would raise median income by $22,000/year, drop unemployment to 3.8%, create 26 million new jobs and grow the economy by 5.3%/year. Of course this requires temporary government investment in things like education and infrastructure, but said investment will return the surplus needed to get the economy back on track. And this strategy has already been proven in the 50s and 60s when it worked quite well for society as a whole.

This
article fits with this discussion thread, especially the discussion on the literal
gravity and space-time of objects and hyperobjects. A brief excerpt:

"The
Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the
United States has detected gravitational waves for the first time. [...]
Gravitational waves are a prediction of Einstein’s Theory of General
Relativity. According to Einstein, gravity bends space-time, and the
more massive an object is, the larger the effect."

See his article here. I'm
in partial agreement with Marty. As I argued in the IPS fold thread, second tier is incipient when we've more thoroughly integrated
the so-called lateral states in the WC lattice via some form of
meditation or contemplation. But instead of them
being atop the so-called 2nd tier levels as 3rd tier a la the lattice,
they are (en)folded under and within the 1st tier stages.

"[I]nstitutionalization of philosophy made it into a discipline that
could be seriously pursued only in an academic setting. This fact
represents one of the enduring failures of contemporary philosophy. [...] Against the inclinations of Socrates, philosophers became experts like
other disciplinary specialists. This occurred even as they taught their
students the virtues of Socratic wisdom, which highlights the role of
the philosopher as the non-expert, the questioner, the gadfly. Philosophy, then, as the French thinker Bruno Latour would have it, was 'purified' — separated from society in the process of modernization."

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

See this article. It claims that if Sanders, for example, wins the total regular delegate count in the nomination then the superdelegates will not tip the scales in favor of Clinton. The argument goes that to do that would divide the Democratic Party to the point of losing to the Republicans. Clinton has pledges for the vast majority of superdelegates. But it could happen that way, even though to date it has not come to that. Given the DNC's utter bias on display in this race so far, and the assured support of Wall Street for establishment candidates, I wouldn't be surprised of this scenario.

After
Sanders 20+ point win in NH the DNC awards Clinton the same number of
delegates! This is not only absurd but corrupt. See this article and
petition to give the DNC a piece of your mind. It's
not just the Republican Party establishment but also the Democratic
Party establishment that just does not want democracy. And both are
bought off by the oligarchy that most certainly detests us unwashed
masses.

Greed, fraud, dishonesty, and arrogance: these are the words that best describe the reality of Wall Street today.

We can no longer tolerate an economy and a political system that have
been rigged by Wall Street to benefit the wealthiest Americans in this
country at the expense of everyone else. While President Obama deserves
credit for getting this economy back on track after the Wall Street
crash, the reality is there is a lot of unfinished business.

That's why I announced my plan for taking on Wall Street.
We must break up the banks, end their casino-style gambling, and
fundamentally change the approach of the financial industry to focus on
helping the American people.

To those on Wall Street, let me be very clear. Greed is not good. In
fact, the greed of Wall Street and corporate America is destroying the
fabric of our nation. And here is a promise I will make as president: If
Wall Street does not end its greed, we will end it for them.

As most people know, in the 1990s and later, financial interests spent
billions of dollars in lobbying and campaign contributions to force
through Congress the deregulation of Wall Street, the repeal of the
Glass-Steagall Act, and the weakening of consumer protection laws.

They paid this money to show the American people all that they could do
with that freedom. Well, they sure showed the American people. In 2008,
the greed, recklessness, and illegal behavior on Wall Street nearly
destroyed the U.S. and global economy. Millions of Americans lost their
jobs, their homes, and their life savings.

Meanwhile, the American middle class continues to disappear, poverty is
increasing, and the gap between the very rich and everyone else is
growing wider and wider by the day. But the American people are catching
on. They also know that a handful of people on Wall Street have
extraordinary power over the economic and political life of our country.

We must act now to change that. Our goal must be to create a financial
system and an economy that works for all Americans, not just a handful
of billionaires.

There are eight points to my plan, and I want to go through each of them
here because I think it's important for our campaign to discuss
specific policies with our supporters. Some of this may seem a little in
the weeds, but I trust our supporters to be able to handle this kind of
policy discussion.

Here's my plan for what I will do with Wall Street when I am president:

In
several posts above I noted how image schema were in the middle of
classical taxonomic hierarchies. That in itself changes said assumptions
inherent to hierarchical complexity. So see this
article by Kurt Fischer (also cited in several posts above) on dynamic
skill theory wherein he uses dynamic systems theory. In particular, see
the section on this starting at page 20. E.g., as related to the middle
of things:

"People act in medias res – in the middle of things in the real
world, not merely as logical agents acting on objects rationally and
without emotion."

This statement is in the context of discussing developmental skill
capacity, how it varies over a wide range depending on environmental
support. I have though associated it with image schema, and how the
latter change the very nature of hierarchical complexity.

See this article. He finds it unfortunate that Albright and Clinton are playing the gender card. Indeed he agrees it's time for a female President, but one who meets the standard in every other way besides her sex. And Clinton is not that woman. It may be, though, our only chance to elect a real defender of the people for a long time to come.

See this article on his win there. He did well in all demos, including non-whites: he got 49% to Clinton's 50%. Granted NH, unlike many southern states, values and invests in education for all including minorities, so they tend to get good educations and hence the ability to think better. But Sanders even did well in NH with non-college degree voters. But again, even those with just a high school degree in NH get a better basic public education than other red states that have decimated that system.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

See his piece here. Morris was Clinton I's adviser, so he knows this duo. And he thinks Clinton II's campaign is falling apart, calling in the smear squad who call Sanders names. Like that will work. It's a sign of desperation and is only turning more progressives off to Clinton's campaign. All Morris correctly concludes: "Voters looked at her and ran screaming."

"If I am alarmed, it is by the profound languor of the comfortable.
What fresh hell must we find ourselves in before those who've appointed
themselves to lead our thoughts admit that we are in flames? As I see
it, to counsel realism when the reality is fucked is to counsel an
adherence to fuckery. Under conditions as distressing as these,
acquiescence is absurd. When your nation gets classified as a Class D structure fire, I believe the only wise course is to lose your shit.

"The reason Wall Street is dropping zillions of quarters into Hillary's
Super PAC-Man machine isn't because it wants change — it's because Wall
Street sees revenue in her promises of keeping things much the same.
Under Hillary, our prisons will continue to punish for profit. Our
schools will continue to be sold off to private contractors. And despite
87 percent of Democrats standing behind universal health care,
Hillary insists it will 'never, ever come to pass.' Not from her, I
guess, since she's taken over $13 million from the health care
industry.

"Even more significant [...] is the account of what Hillary apparently told Goldman she 'thought' during those speeches. According to Politico, who spoke to several attendees,
Hillary used the opportunity to tell the bankers in attendance that the 'banker-bashing so popular within both parties was unproductive and
indeed foolish.' She added that the proper attitude should be, 'We all got into this
mess together, and we're all going to have to work together to get out
of it.'"

From this article, which ties Clinton to this very method of operation via her money from them. And which paradigm she will perpetuate.

"They call it 'unlocking value,' but it is cold, hard financial
strip-mining that adds no value at all to the target firm while
squeezing the livelihoods of the average employee. These Wall
Street predators pressure corporation after corporation to use their
revenues to buy back their own shares, thereby raising the share price,
enriching CEOs and the largest Wall Street investors.

"Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) is a broad theoretical framework
imported from the physical sciences and used in psychology and cognitive
science in the past several decades that provides an alternative to the
computational and information-processing approach that has governed
main stream cognitive science since the dawn of the cognitive revolution
in the mid-twentieth century (Beer, 2000; van Gelder & Port, 1995;
van Gelder, 1998; Spivey, 2007). DST views all psychological processes
and capacities as dynamic systems which are best described as complex,
non-linear, self-organizing and emergent and whereby cognition develops
over the life-course and occurs over real-time as a probable description
of many possible alternatives instead of linear assembly of symbolic
processes (Spivey, 2007; van Gelder & Port, 1995).